G8 Summit

[AendarCallenlasse]

Taken from the G8 website:

President Bush will host the 30th G8 Summit at Sea Island, Georgia on June 8-10, 2004. The United States assumed the Presidency of the G8 from France at the beginning of 2004. President Bush, Chairman of the 2004 G8 Summit, is looking forward to the opportunity to meet with the G8 Leaders in the informal and relaxed setting of Sea Island, Georgia.

The G8 Summit brings together the Leaders of the world\'s major industrial democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union also attends the G8 Summit, represented by the President of the European Commission and the Leader of the country holding the Presidency of the European Council. At previous Summits, Leaders have discussed a wide range of international economic, political, and security issues.

The G8 began with a 1975 Summit in France of six countries ( France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States). Canada joined the group at the San Juan Summit of 1976, and the European Community began participation at the London Summit of 1977. Starting with the 1994 Naples Summit, Russia attended the political sessions and at the 1998 Birmingham Summit, Russia began participating in all sessions.

The Presidency of the G8, and responsibility of hosting the G8 Summit, rotates each year. Italy hosted the G8 Summit in Genoa in 2001, Canada hosted in Kananaskis in 2002, and France hosted in Evian in 2003. The United Kingdom will host the G8 Summit in 2005 and Russia will host in 2006.

Sea Island is located on the southern portion of the Georgia coastline, 80 miles from Savannah, Georgia. Previously, the United States hosted G8 Summits in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico (1976), Williamsburg, Virginia (1983), Houston, Texas (1990) and Denver, Colorado (1997).


Now, I don\'t give a crap about any of this really.  But I live in Savannah, GA.  So I kinda have to wonder about it.  I mean when you drive down the street and you\'re seeing more military vechicles than civilian vehicles you get a little antsy.  But I suppose it is important that all of the major world leaders will be in one place discussing....stuff.  It also makes for a perfect target for terrorists.  Which is why I don\'t like this thing.  Security is beefed up pretty badly here, even though there are protests all over the place.

Anyway what\'s everyone else think?  Care?  Don\'t care?  Who likes pie?

[seperot]

do me a favor and bomb the place to hell

[Monketh]

Any terrorist group attacking all world leaders (ya know, not just Bush) is really in for it.  Notice how more than a few of these world organizations rest on the shores of the US.

[DepthBlade]

I like to watch the protesters at these events, hope they go real crazy!

[Fish]

AendarCallenlasse

Anyway what\'s everyone else think? Care? Don\'t care? Who likes pie?

I like pie!
I do I do I do I do LIKE PIE  

[tygerwilde]

I like cobbler better!

mmm, peach cobbler with cinnamon...

[XpYtZ]

I love Key Lime pie.  

[Ineluke]

I\'m a cheesecake man myself
(Why do they call it cheeseCAKE it\'s really more like a pie. From now on I call it cheesepie.)
 
 

[Melbourne]

Originally posted by AendarCallenlasse
...Canada joined the group at the San Juan Summit of 1976...the United States hosted G8 Summits in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico (1976)...

So two were held in 1976?

[AendarCallenlasse]

I like to watch the protesters at these events, hope they go real crazy!

Police in Glynn County initially took a bend but don\'t break philosophy, allowing a group of young protesters to defy a state ban on walking on the St. Simons causeway this morning and march toward Sea Island.

The march had been permitted for a mile-stretch of U.S. 17. At the end of that march, dozens of the black-clad, masked protesters broke away and headed east on the 4-mile causeway, yelling obscenities and banging on plastic buckets and drums.

Once on St. Simons, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents and troopers allowed the marchers to turn onto Sea Island Road.

By that time, it was 90 degrees and the marchers had covered 5 miles in the open sun, some without water. Several people were treated at the scene for heat-related injuries and a TV reporter was taken to the hospital and was being treated in the emergency room, said Susan Bates, spokeswoman for Glynn County Medical Health System.


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Wednesday\'s early-afternoon protest march was a little more adrenalized than what Savannah had seen so far during the G-8 Summit - a shot of espresso, as it were - as more than 25 college-age protesters encountered police in riot gear outside Starbucks at Bull and Broughton streets.

Shoppers from nearby stores stepped onto the sidewalk and peered as the members of the bandana-clad group banged homemade, plastic drums, chanted, and danced around the blue, humorless wall.

The drums bore an encircled \"A,\" representing \"anarchy.\"

Others carried red and black flags, or black umbrellas with messages lamenting the death toll from the war in Iraq.

There was no physical contact, and no arrests.

((This is what we get for having a large art college))

[DepthBlade]

Heh I like the tree huggers, Artsies, and peace protestors when they go crazy! I saw a protest somewhere in Asia and the protestors were armored up and armed and were taking strategical positions! They had their gas masks/helmets some had bullet proof vests or padding of some kind and the sticks they weild were most impressive! People on buildings were tossing fire bombs and stuff!


w00h00 post number 777 !! MY LUCK JUST RAN THROUGH THE ROOF!!! If I was playing FF7 and that was my HP number my characters hits would be strengthened!

[Vengeance]

The protesters against the G8 have always confused me.  I have yet to hear a coherent reason for their angst.  Can anyone enlighten?

It seems like half the world hates America because it is too unilateral and ignores world opinion, the UN, etc. and the other half hates it because it is too much into globalization and working with other countries...

That reminds me of the guy who said that Europe disdains America because we are too idealistic and religious and Arabs hate us because we are decadent and amoral.  :-)

- Vengeance

[DepthBlade]

Or because the corporate powers weilding so much power over their stuff and using their influence to rule over other peoplez from other nations!

[elscouta]

Originally posted by Vengeance
The protesters against the G8 have always confused me.  I have yet to hear a coherent reason for their angst.  Can anyone enlighten?

It seems like half the world hates America because it is too unilateral and ignores world opinion, the UN, etc. and the other half hates it because it is too much into globalization and working with other countries...

I don\'t think G8 is hated only because of America. It\'s absolutely normal lesser develloped country are jealous to the \'Top 8\'. What is not normal is how this \'Top 8\' acts toward the rest of the world. Some  points:
 * Kyoto treaty, not signed by USA, and not respected by Europe.
 * Selling arms to got petrol.
 * Refusal to let poor country use copyrigted medicament.

I\'m french and apart from some of the stupid anti-USA flames, i really don\'t like how the USA behave some times. What makes me even more sad is that European countries are not better.
So ... yeah anarchy! no more money! equality for everyone! Planeshift art under G*cough*

Hmm, and i like pie.

[kbilik]

Originally posted by elscouta
I don\'t think G8 is hated only because of America. It\'s absolutely normal lesser develloped country are jealous to the \'Top 8\'. What is not normal is how this \'Top 8\' acts toward the rest of the world. Some  points:
 * Kyoto treaty, not signed by USA, and not respected by Europe.
 * Selling arms to got petrol.
 * Refusal to let poor country use copyrigted medicament.

I\'m french and apart from some of the stupid anti-USA flames, i really don\'t like how the USA behave some times. What makes me even more sad is that European countries are not better.
So ... yeah anarchy! no more money! equality for everyone! Planeshift art under G*cough*

Hmm, and i like pie.

First of all, not everyone agrees that the Kyoto protocol will work. It is also debated as to whether the economic damage from reducing world industry to abide by Kyoto will lead to any benefits in the long term whatsoever.

Decide for yourself:
Wikipedia entry for Kyoto protocol

Kyoto protocol text

* As for refusal to let poor countries copy designs of medicine, such a move can bankrupt the entire industry. Anyone can take advantage and buy cheap drugs - that took billions of dollars of research to make - and import them. That will pretty much make the pharmaceutical companies slow down research and go out of business. There goes the future of treating diseases down the drain. Research for proteins that inhibit mechanisms in cancer, AIDS, and neurological diseases would slow down to a halt because the investments wouldnt be there.

* But then again, millions of people in poor countries are dying from diseases that can be treated. Do we just let them die and suffer because they can\'t afford the medicine?

This is definitely a more complicated issue. It\'s not black and white. If the protestors actually started researching and providing good reasons instead of wasting their time with demonstrations... if they were on the inside of the conference not on the outside making proposals and alternate solutions, it would make for a difference. Oh well...